Another issue the books (and soon the show) faces is introducing new story elements late in the game that don't go anywhere, and more importantly, story lines that take us away from our favourite characters for what seems like no purpose at all. While characters like Victarion or the returning Aegon Targareyn look set to have an impact down the line, you have to wonder why others were even in the story at all. In A Feast For Crows for example, we are (re)introduced to Ser Arys Oakheart, a member of the Kingsguard who gets embroiled in Dorne's politics while protecting Cersei's daughter Mycella, only to die at the end of the novel without having served any real purpose. Bigger still is Quentyn Martell, seemingly the link between the politicking going on in Dorne, who arrives in Mereen in what may be destined to take on a major role in Daenarys's life and potentially control one of her dragons... only to die before A Dance With Dragons has ended. Perhaps he will suffer a cull in the show as the writers trim some of the fat, but you have to wonder, how much fat can the show cut before it runs out if book to adapt?